The self-build revolution is here! DIY house-building fever is sweeping the nation, with a plethora of self-build conferences, workshops, building groups and now even pots of governmental money for it – all fuelled by our insatiable appetite for Grand Designs' dramatic journeys of doom, gloom and eventual domestic triumph.

It was announced this week that plans are afoot for a new self-build community within the grounds of the sprawling Balmoral estate in Scotland. The move follows a long history of queens building model villages. Marie Antoinette had a miniature hamlet, le hameau de la reine, built in the gardens of Versailles in 1783. It was a rustic retreat of hobbity houses, where she could escape the pomp of the palace and play at being a peasant. Not to be outdone, Catherine the Great ordered an entire Chinese village to be constructed in her palace grounds at Tsarskoye Selo, when Chinoiserie was all the rage. She died before it could be completed.

But our own modest queen is opting for something altogether different. The group of 12-16 houses, to be built on a field near Ballater in Aberdeenshire's Cairngorms national park, will provide affordable dwellings for the local community.

"There is particular pressure on housing here," says Hank Dittmar, chief executive of the Prince's Foundation, which is spearheading the project. "It is a very desirable place for second homes, and it's also where people from Aberdeen's oil industry come to retire – both of which have pushed house prices up."

The housing, planned for an area of the estate already home to some cottages, will be developed by architects from the Prince's Foundation in close consultation with the future residents, who are currently all in shared or social housing nearby. The Foundation has been in talks with Grampian Housing Association, and plans to work with a contractor to build the shells, before handing the buildings over for the residents to fit out.

So can we expect a Highland Poundbury, all turrets and towers in the Scottish baronial style?

"No," says Dittmar. "The Scottish vernacular is pretty simple and austere, plain stone or rendered houses with dormer windows, but not much exterior detail."

"The idea is really to support the residents in figuring out what they want. We always start by asking people what their favourite buildings are in the towns they live in, and what places they particularly admire. But this project is more about testing a new model of delivery than the style of architecture."

"It is setting a terrific precedent, which will hopefully inspire other major philanthropic landowners," he says. "Twice as many building societies are now lending to self-builders than a year ago, but the biggest hurdle is still getting the land."

"If you look back in history, there are some fantastic examples of big companies making land available for model villages, such as at Bournville and Port Sunlight," says Stevens. "It would be great to see companies follow this example today, using land in a way that can benefit the local community, such as through community land trusts."

The news follows Tuesday's announcement that the first applications for a slice of the Department for Communities and Local Government's £30m self-build investment fund have been earmarked for approval, for sites in north-east Derbyshire and Peterborough.

Plans have yet to be revealed, but we will be following the progress of the new wave of self-build communities – from royal highland hamlets to high-density urban abodes – closely on this site.